Trains, Yachts, and Automobiles

Everyone’s going crazy about the European Union budget. And Greece. And there’s only a month before Christmas. What better time for another weird and wonderful infringement cocktail? As readers of this blog will know, infringements happen when EU members don’t follow the bloc’s rules.

Now, EU lawyers have a plethora of measures to get stuck into, from Slovakia’s duty to provide a Christmas pension supplement to its old folks living abroad, to Portugal’s rules on what you can use tractors for. Real Time Brussels has selected a few transport-related specials – if you like getting the train to London or charter your mega-yachts in France, read on…

This reasoned opinion means France has two months to reply to the Commission, explaining how the tunnel will be opened up, or face a trip to Europe’s highest court, the European Court of Justice.

Yachts

France and luxury yachts have a history. Nicolas Sarkozy’s choice to go vacationing with chum Vincent Bolloré on his yacht Paloma, a 65-metre beauty with two decks and a karaoke lounge, got him into stormy waters for his blinging lifestyle. The French Riviera is luxury craft heaven – though woe betide the ingénue who wears high heels on the boat, the ultimate Cannes festival faux pas. But Puff Daddy’s annual yachtsravaganza is set to get more expensive. The EU is reprimanding France for its failure to apply value-added tax to luxury yacht hire.

“The VAT Directive (Article 148) provides for VAT exemption for certain transactions concerning vessels. However, this exemption does not apply to luxury boats used by individuals for recreational purposes,” the EU, a.k.a. Captain No-Fun has decreed. Again, France has two months to comply, or face the ECJ. Readers planning to take the Maltese Falcon on a spin to Nice or Marseilles would be advised to book quickly.

Automobiles

Slightly less glamorous here. Cyprus got referred to the ECJ, with fines, for not getting its laws into line with the EU’s on driving licenses. Since the previous court referral decision in June, Cyprus has notified a measure that partially transposes the EU directive.

“To take these new developments into account the Commission has reduced the proposed daily penalty payment to €6,504,96…. Failure to fully implement the Directive may affect road safety and makes it difficult for the Cypriots to exchange the relevant driving licences in other parts of the EU.”

About Real Time Brussels

The Wall Street Journal’s Brussels blog is produced by the Brussels bureau of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires. The bureau has been headed since 2009 by Stephen Fidler, who was previously a correspondent and editor for the Financial Times and Reuters. Also posting regularly: Matthew Dalton, Viktoria Dendrinou, Tom Fairless, Naftali Bendavid, Laurence Norman, Gabriele Steinhauser and Valentina Pop.